Caveats up front: I am not a botanist, and I don’t claim to have the world’s greenest thumb. But it must be said, I’ve had a lot of success with house plants over the last few years. Earlier this week I was chatting with a client about the plants in my studio. They commented how
I turned 40 last year. I’m not old, but to say I’m still young would be in breach of trading standards. As I’ve gone around the sun a few more times, I’ve started to notice some patterns. In particular, some inescapable truths about building good habits in life. Let’s roll back the clock Imagine you’re
I’ve been contemplating “bite” in the upper registers recently, and in turn, other vocal qualities that singers develop and possess, in varying proportions. It’s increasingly striking to me how, while all separate qualities are developable as vocal skill, listening to similarly advanced singers demonstrates how the proportions of different qualities vary. You hear upper partial
Over the years of training hundreds of singers voices, I’ve noticed that lessons tend to follow similar structures depending on what that specific singer needs in that particular session. There’s different patterns that tend to appear, and while the exact shape and structure of each session will vary, I have noticed four broad categories of
Whether you are singing professionally or just for fun, you may relate to this situation. You’re singing along, maybe a few songs deep, and you find yourself squeezing a little too hard for a note. You make the note, it doesn’t sound bad, but it doesn’t feel great. But then the next line doesn’t feel
Last week’s article seemed to strike a chord (no pun intended) with many clients and readers. It sparked a lot of questions along a variety of different angles. For example, for those who have not studied with me – I accompany clients by playing piano when they want to sing their songs. This means I
A common theme has been cropping up with clients over the last few weeks – the topic of singing ballads. For the purpose of this article, I mean slower songs. Typically romantic, sad, tragic, etc. Upbeat songs are more popular Most people want to sing upbeat, fast or overtly intense songs. Hard rock, fast pop,
We love the myth of the “prodigy” because it gives us an excuse. If greatness is just a gift you’re born with, you don’t have to feel bad about not having it. It lets you off the hook. But in my years as a vocal coach, I’ve seen the truth: the gap between a hobbyist
